Asked by: Martin Wrigley (Liberal Democrat - Newton Abbot)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, if she will take steps to increase competition in the telecoms tower market.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The government is committed to a competitive mobile market where consumers and business have access to high-quality, secure and affordable connectivity. We will publish a Mobile Market Review call for evidence in the coming months to help better understand how technological, structural and financial changes could impact the industry’s ability to invest in widespread high-quality connectivity, this includes impacts on the mobile tower market.
The CMA and Ofcom have the duty to promote competition and protect consumers within telecoms markets. Where they identify anti-competitive behaviour, they have powers to investigate and implement measures to promote competition. Government works with these regulators where appropriate.
Asked by: Helen Morgan (Liberal Democrat - North Shropshire)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to help support the financial viability of farming businesses in North Shropshire constituency.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Supporting farmers in North Shropshire and across the country is a key priority for the Government.
We have allocated a record £11.8bn to sustainable farming and food production over this parliament. We are targeting public money where it delivers most value, including actions that support nature to produce good food, and providing grants to help the sector access cutting-edge technology and techniques.
We have started to make the supply chain fairer, so farmers are protected in contracts with supermarkets, and are unlocking new markets for British produce to fuel growth.
We will continue our work to make farming and food production more profitable in the decades to come. We are working with farmers, farming and environmental organisations to develop the Farming Roadmap, which will set the course of farming in England for the next 25 years.
Asked by: Feryal Clark (Labour - Enfield North)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps his Department is taking to increase the use of UK-manufactured (a) technologies and (b) components in (i) hydrogen and (ii) fuel cell projects; and what steps his Department is taking to ensure that British firms can capitalise on (A) growth and (B) export opportunities in the hydrogen economy.
Answered by Chris McDonald - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Clean Energy Industries Sector Plan sets out a clear plan to support the growth of the UK’s manufacturing base for hydrogen technologies including deployment certainty and timelines for future Hydrogen Allocation Rounds; the launch of the first transport and storage allocation round and hydrogen to power business model; establishing the UK’s first regional hydrogen network from 2031; working with projects to deliver events connecting developers and suppliers; and a comprehensive public financial institution offer including the £1bn Great British Energy supply chain fund.
UK companies are at the forefront of hydrogen technology advancement and are already exporting their innovative technologies across the globe. We are working hard to ensure UK hydrogen and fuel cell companies continue to capitalise on the opportunities of the clean energy transition and access high value opportunities in international markets. This includes working to remove trade barriers and championing our world-leading hydrogen companies overseas.
Asked by: Cameron Thomas (Liberal Democrat - Tewkesbury)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent assessment she has made of the adequacy of levels of responsibility on (a) banks and (b) receiving firms to (i) share information quickly and (ii) freeze funds in cases of fraud.
Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
The Home Office continues to work with financial institutions, regulators, and law enforcement to ensure responsibilities for preventing and responding to fraud are clear and effective.
The Payment Services (Amendment) Regulations 2024, effective October 2024, granted banks powers to delay and investigate payments suspected of being fraudulent for up to 72 hours. The change is designed to protect consumers from scams and ensure funds can be frozen before they reach fraudsters.
The Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023 (ECCTA) introduced new provisions, effective January 2024, that allow anti-money laundering (AML) regulated firms to share customer information, provided UK GDPR safeguards are met. These measures aim to create a networked approach to economic crime risk, enabling faster detection and disruption of fraud.
The Government is working to develop a strategy for cross-system data sharing that brings benefits for the public and private sector. The strategy will enhance the exploitation of the vast datasets held across ecosystem by using modern technology, bringing together organisations and capabilities to better prevent, detect, and pursue economic crime.
Asked by: Mike Wood (Conservative - Kingswinford and South Staffordshire)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what is his Department’s definition of disinformation is.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The UK government defines disinformation as the deliberate creation and spreading of false and/or manipulated information that is intended to deceive and mislead people, either for the purposes of causing harm, or for political, personal or financial gain. Misinformation is the inadvertent spread of false information.
Asked by: Mohammad Yasin (Labour - Bedford)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether she has had discussions with the Financial Conduct Authority on the regulation of financial promotion content on social media linked to so-called pump-and-dump investment schemes; and what steps her Department is taking to protect consumers from misleading online investment advice.
Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
The UK has a robust regime for identifying and tackling market abuse. It provides the FCA the ability to impose both criminal and regulatory sanctions against perpetrators of market manipulation and insider dealing.
The UK’s financial promotions regime is designed to ensure that consumers are provided with clear and accurate information that enables them to make appropriate decisions for their individual circumstances. As a technology-neutral framework, the regime holds financial promotions on social media to the same standards as those on any other channel. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) are responsible for enforcing against any financial promotions that are illegal or which do not comply with its rules.
The provision of financial advice is an FCA regulated activity and those who provide financial advice need to be authorised by the FCA and have the appropriate qualifications. The FCA can take action against firms or individuals who carry out regulated activity without authorisation. Earlier this year, the FCA led a global week of action against unlawful finfluencers resulting in 650 take down requests on social media platforms in the UK.
The government is committed to ensuring that all consumers can access regulated and high-quality sources of advice and support. That is why, together with the FCA, we are developing a new regime called targeted support. This will enable regulated financial services firms to provide more support to give people the confidence to invest.
The Money and Pensions Service (MaPS), an arm’s length body of the government, also provides comprehensive guidance to support consumers at every stage of their financial lives. Its MoneyHelper website offers information on a wide range of financial topics, including how to assess online and app-based investments, whether to trust investment recommendations on social media, and the risks of following unauthorised financial advice found online.
Asked by: Lisa Smart (Liberal Democrat - Hazel Grove)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the impact of waiting times at the First-tier Tribunal (Social Security and Child Support Chamber) on claimants’ financial wellbeing.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
Data on Tribunals performance is published by the Ministry of Justice on a quarterly basis. Receipts, disposals and the outstanding caseload for individual Chambers in the First-tier Tribunal and Upper Tribunal, the Employment Tribunal and the Employment Appeal Tribunal can be found at the link below: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/tribunals-statistics.
The Ministry of Justice is working to reduce the outstanding caseload across the Social Entitlement Chamber of the First-tier Tribunal, which includes the Social Security and Child Support jurisdiction. This is key to reducing the waiting time for tribunal hearings.
The Department continues to invest in improving tribunal capacity and productivity through the recruitment of additional Judges, the deployment of Legal Officers to actively manage cases, the development of modern case management systems, and the use of remote hearing technology. We expect these actions to have a positive effect, improving timeliness and overall performance in the Social Entitlement Chamber.
The Ministry of Justice has not conducted assessments of the impact of tribunal waiting times on claimants but we recognise the potential negative impacts and uncertainty for individuals waiting for their appeal to be resolved.
Asked by: Lord Taylor of Warwick (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to promote fintech investment and skills development in regions outside London.
Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
The UK has a world-leading Fintech sector throughout the UK.
The Financial Services Growth and Competitiveness Strategy identified Fintech as a priority growth opportunity, and set out measures to support investment in the sector, including welcoming the City of London Corporation and the British Business Bank facilitating greater access to finance and commercial opportunities for fast-growing Fintech firms across the UK.
This is in addition to wider action to boost investment throughout the UK, which includes the recent Spending Review settlement which increased the British Business Bank’s total financial capacity to £25.6 billion, enabling the Bank to back tens of billions of pounds’ worth of additional lending and investment to SMEs and scale-ups.
In the Strategy, the government has also committed to supporting the development of an industry-led Skills Compact for financial services and commissioned the Financial Services Skills Commission to produce a report on how the skills system can drive growth and productivity in financial services by supporting effective adoption of AI and other disruptive technologies. Both projects are UK-wide in scope.
Asked by: Ben Obese-Jecty (Conservative - Huntingdon)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 20 October 2025 to Question 79742 on Railways: Mobile Broadband, by what date mainline trains will be fitted with Low Earth Orbit satellite technology.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Funding for LEO satellite technology becomes available in the new financial year 2026, at which point my officials will begin the implementation of this on trains.
The objective will be to complete all installations within 5 years from 2026/2027, and this is based on our experience of fitting all GB trains with on-train wifi between 2016 and 2020.
Asked by: Lewis Cocking (Conservative - Broxbourne)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he has made an assessment of the potential impact of the abolition of NHS England on the Neurology Transformation Programme.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
NHS England’s Neurology Transformation Programme will be concluding at the end of this financial year. By this time, we will have delivered all of the products, tools, and best practice guidance to support integrated care boards and local pathfinders to transform neurology services at a local level. Expert clinical advice and support will continue to be available during 2026/27 to support local transformation.
As we bring together the Department and NHS England to form a new joint centre, we will empower staff to focus on delivering better care for patients, including for people with neurological conditions, driving productivity up and getting waiting times down. By the end of the process, we estimate that these changes will save hundreds of millions of pounds a year, which will be reinvested in frontline services.
We continue to take forward the Government’s ambitious reform agenda as set out in the 10-Year Health Plan, which will deliver the three big shifts our National Health Service needs to be fit for the future: from hospital to community; from analogue to digital; and from sickness to prevention. All of these are relevant to improving neurological care for people in all parts of the country. More tests and scans delivered in the community, better joint working between services, and greater use of apps and wearable technology will all support people to manage their long-term conditions, including neurological conditions, closer to home.